A bit of Senshi Silliness
by C. Jones
Summary: - Haruka Ten'ou gets a letter that could shatter her relationship with Michiru. Or it could just embarass Usagi and her friends.


As always, all my other stories are available at :  
  
http://www.furinkan.net/fanfic  
  
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A bit of Senshi Sillyness  
  
by Chris Jones  
--------------------------------  
  
"So insensitive," Michiru complained in a  
plaintive, mocking tone.  
  
I smiled, sliding back over to the bed, wiping my  
mouth on the sleeve of my short terry robe. "I can't help  
it if I get thirsty after sex."  
  
"So like a man," she sniped, turning her nose  
playfully up into the air. "You could have stayed in bed  
for just a second."  
  
Usually, I wouldn't have even noticed the  
statement, but I tend to feel just a *bit* kittenish  
after lovemaking. I arched my back slightly, and lifted  
one arm into the air. I bent it back behind me,  
stretching my rather understated 'talent' to the fullest.  
  
"And what's masculine about this?" I asked in my  
most 'girlish' voice.  
  
Michiru giggled and curled up in the satin sheet  
draped over our bed.  
  
God, she's sexy. I wish I could spend all day just  
like this, staring at her body when it's just barely  
concealed like this. I love her so much.... Still,  
matters press.  
  
"We probably don't have much more time before  
afternoon classes start," I said. "I'd love to skip, but  
my grades in calculus are slipping."  
  
Michiru nodded sadly, and sat up in bed, pulling  
the sheet along with her. "We should probably also meet  
the girls at the temple this afternoon. They deserve to  
know about the ghost attack yesterday, even if it wasn't  
part of a pattern."  
  
I nodded, careful to keep my feelings from showing  
on my face.  
  
As I dressed for class, I got more and more  
depressed, thinking about meeting with the girls. It had  
been about a year since the fiasco with Galaxia, and in  
all that time, Setsuuna, Hotaru or even Usagi never asked  
us about why we did... what we did.  
  
It weighs horribly on the both of us. There have  
been nights when Michiru stood up screaming in the bed,  
reliving the events of that horrible night in her darkest  
nightmares.  
  
I look at it a little more pragmatically. We made a  
choice that we thought would save the world and were  
proven horribly, miserably wrong. It's a bitter pill to  
swallow, but we *did* pay for our mistakes with our  
lives.  
  
Since, both Michiru and I have thrown ourselves  
into our school and work to help take the edge off the  
pain. We fight the occasional monster when it shows up  
and... and...  
  
...And we don't question Usagi's leadership  
anymore. No matter how difficult it is for us, we've both  
been made to see the truth of the matter. As much  
responsibility as Michiru and I have for protecting the  
world from invaders, we're just the soldiers. The front  
line. Usagi is... The Princess. We are nothing. She is  
*Everything*.  
  
Michiru, already into her school uniform, took a  
second to make sure her light make-up is not *too*  
horribly smudged. She turned toward me and cupped my chin  
with her slender hand.  
  
"It won't be that hard," she said.  
  
I nodded and finished tying my shoes.  
  
"Aren't you supposed to get that letter today?"  
  
I blinked, not realizing what she was talking about  
at first. "Oh.. Oh, *that* letter. It's supposed to  
arrive today or tomorrow," I said.  
  
"The post may already have been by today," Michiru  
said. "Why don't you check. It will cheer you up!"  
  
Smiling, I finished dressing and strode downstairs  
to the front room. I stepped outside and checked the  
mail. Sure enough, there was a letter from the Kageko  
Institute. My breath caught for a second, but I pushed  
the emotions down and did my best to stay calm.  
  
"Back to school?" Michiru asked as she stepped  
through the doorway.  
  
Smiling, I flashed the unopened envelope at her and  
strode off in the direction of Juuban High.  
  
* * *  
  
Haruka Ten'ou is not my real name. I don't know  
*what* it is, but I do know that I was adopted.  
  
As far as I know, I was born overseas to Japanese  
parents. There was an accident on the ship that was  
bringing them back to Japan when I was a newborn infant,  
and they were both killed. Although I have no memory of  
the situation, I and only three others survived a fire  
that killed over a hundred people that day.  
  
Because of the international fracas the accident  
caused, my birth records and proof of my identity were  
somehow lost in the overseas mix up. Only a few weeks  
after the fire, I had no identity, and no hope of finding  
my family's relatives. A foster family, the Ten'ous, took  
me in while the search for my real family continued. They  
renamed me 'Haruka' and formally adopted me when I was  
three years old.  
  
Since, I've looked for records of my real parents  
off an on. I've never been *too* concerned about that  
fact that I don't seem to have any heritage.  
  
Since the mess last year, however, I've found  
myself a little more drawn into the search, if for no  
other reason than to occupy my time. I've found myself  
drawn into genealogy books and public records. I now know  
of at least three other young women in almost exactly the  
same situation I'm in.  
  
The Kageko institute is the organization from which  
my parents adopted me. They usually deal with abandoned  
children, but also see after the welfare of children  
whose parents have died. When my parents started asking  
about adoption options, the institute never gave any  
indication of wether or not they had found my real  
parents. They just said that I was 'suitable for  
adoption'.  
  
I've often wondered if it was just another clerical  
screw-up, or if they actually found my real family and  
decided I would be better off with the Ten'ous.  
(Secretly, I've also wondered if my father, who is an  
investment banker, didn't spread a little dosh around and  
grease the right palms to make the adoption happen.)  
  
Once I turned eighteen, I gained the right to find  
out for myself. I called the institute, and they promised  
to mail me records of their findings to the apartment I  
share with Michiru.  
  
* * *  
  
Savoring the nervous rush of anticipation, I waited  
until we were actually in class to open the letter.  
  
Michiru sat one seat over and back from me. So we  
could chat through class without disturbing the teacher,  
I bought a pair of palm-top computers with wireless  
messaging features. After the boring calculus teacher  
began to drone, I brought out my 'PDA' and turned on the  
secure chat program.  
  
S.Neptune: What does it say?  
  
S.Uranus: Hold on. I haven't even opened it yet.  
  
I took a second to work my pencil into the envelope  
and tear the flap off. behind the enclosed letter, there  
was a yellowed sheet of paper with English text and a  
pair of tiny footprints. Breathlessly, I scanned over my  
own birth certificate.  
  
S.Neptue: Well?  
  
I blinked for a second, not quite believing what I  
was seeing.  
  
S.Uranus: My real name is 'Ariel'????  
  
S.Neptune: You're joking, right?  
  
S.Uranus: No, my birth certificate is labeled  
'Ariel Ohkawa'. It's my real name.  
  
I heard a titter of muffled laughter behind me.  
  
The cranky teacher turned around and glared at  
Michiru and myself, certain that we were up to our usual  
misdeeds. Redfaced, I stared right back at him, silently  
daring him to say something.  
  
S.Neptune: I'm sorry I laughed. I certainly wasn't  
expecting 'Ariel'.  
  
S.Uranus: It's okay. Neither was I. It says that  
my parents' names were Mahito and Akari.  
  
S.Neptune: They sound like beautiful people.  
  
I touched my fingers to the yellowed names,  
wondering if the hollow, empty feeling in my chest was  
the normal thing to be feeling at such a time. I suddenly  
wished I had any memory at all of my biological mother or  
father.  
  
What kind of parents would name their kid 'Ariel'?  
  
Turning the certificate face down on my desk so  
that I didn't have to look at 'Ariel' any more, I  
unfolded the letter and began to read.  
  
It was a bit more painful than I expected to read  
about my real parents' deaths. I usually don't cry, not  
even at the sappy 'chick-flicks' Michiru likes. This got  
me, though. Even a warrior like myself couldn't hold back  
all emotion before the onslaught of such a tragedy. I  
probably would have cried even if I wasn't the main  
character.  
  
The next part of the letter detailed the Ten'ous'  
adoption proceedings and what Mom and Dad had to go  
through to get me. The last part of the letter contained  
what little research they had done on my parents extended  
family. It turned out that my mother's maiden name was...  
  
The bottom fell out of my stomach.  
  
"Kaiou," I said out loud.  
  
"Do you have a problem, Miss Ten'ou?" the  
instructor demanded, just hoping for a chance to throw me  
out of class.  
  
I did him the favor of running out, the letter  
clutched in one hand.  
  
A few minutes later, Michiru came running after,  
and found me hiding in the girl's bathroom.  
  
"What on earth did--"  
  
I thrust the letter at her, not trusting myself to  
speak.  
  
She scanned over it, and then re-read, careful to  
make sure she understood what had upset me so badly.  
  
"I see," she said. "It's... rather ironic."  
  
"Ironic, hell," I quipped. "More like a Greek  
tragedy."  
  
"It could be worse, I suppose," she stated quietly.  
"We could actually be sisters... or brother and sister."  
  
I shook my head. According to the letter, my  
closest relative was one Mitsuru Kaiou. He was my  
mother's brother and lived with his darling wife and  
their teenaged daughter, Michiru.  
  
"I don't suppose you or your dad knows any other  
Mitsuru Kaious does he?" I asked.  
  
Michiru scanned the letter "Who works as a law  
partner with Kurata and Kurata? And has a wife named  
Nanako? And has a daughter named Michiru?"  
  
"I'm grasping at straws," I admitted. "So..."  
  
"This doesn't change anything, you know," She told  
me. "We were lovers long before either of us were born in  
this life. I'd like to think we'd be lovers in the next  
life, even if we *were* brother and sister."  
  
"But... geez... Cousins? First cousins?" I asked  
incredulously.  
  
"Kissing cousins," Michiru corrected me with a  
straight face. "It's not *quite* incest."  
  
"I mean... being openly lesbian can be a drag  
sometimes--" I said.  
  
"Shall I play a rimshot for you, *Ariel*?" Michiru  
asked. She pulled out her palmtop and hit a button that  
made it play a short drum-solo.  
  
I reddened, embarrassed by the accidental pun.  
  
"If you think about it, we now have an excuse for  
our closeness that will be accepted by some of our  
less... hmm... accepting acquaintances," Michiru said. "I  
know that my father is not comfortable with our  
relationship. If we emphasize the fact that you're his  
long-lost niece, he's going to be a lot more willing to  
accept you into the family."  
  
"Yeah, but..."  
  
"No buts," Michiru said, a bitter-sweet smile on  
her face. "It's not like we're going to have inbred  
children."  
  
"That's true," I admit somberly. "But what about  
the people who *do* know we're lovers? We don't make any  
secret of it."  
  
"You've never worried about what people thought of  
you before," Michiru noted. "Most of the people who  
really care about us will understand," she said quietly.  
"I know seven or eight of our closest friends who knew us  
both in this life and the last. Even if everyone else in  
the world rejects us, *they* will not. *She* will  
understand our love."  
  
I nodded, secure in the knowledge that if anyone  
had a less appropriate relationship than I suddenly found  
myself in, it was 22-year-old college boy and our just-  
freshly-turned sixteen-year-old Princess.  
  
* * *  
  
Rei hung up the phone in shock.  
  
"What was it, Rei-chan?" Usagi asked as she stared  
blankly at her math workbook.  
  
"I'm not sure. I think... I think Haruka-san just  
tried to give me a message in code."  
  
"Really?" Ami asked from across the table. "What  
kind of code. Morse code? Was there computer encryption  
on the line?"  
  
"Well," Rei said, scratching her head in thought.  
"First of all, she introduced herself as 'Ariel'."  
  
"Like the Little Mermaid?" Makoto asked, not really  
paying attention to her own studying.  
  
Rei shrugged. "She said she was going to her  
uncle's house with her cousin," she said. "And she was  
laughing the whole time."  
  
"If it was a coded message, 'cousin' could mean  
Michiru-san," Ami said. "And 'Uncle' could mean...  
perhaps a dark general? There has been a slight upswing  
in monster attacks lately. Perhaps a new enemy is  
organizing against us."  
  
"Well, she gave me an address," Rei said. "It's in  
Minato ward. She told us that we were invited to come to  
dinner."  
  
"The enemy's headquarters!" Usagi said, seeing a  
chance to evade her homework. Standing up and sending her  
math book flying, she struck a dramatic pose.  
  
"An enemy is attacking?" Luna said, waking from her  
cat nap.  
  
"A dark general is holding Setsuuna and Hotaru-chan  
hostage and Michiru and Haruka have asked for our help,"  
Minako explained in quite her usual manner. "They told us  
in a coded message that Ami decoded. It's up to us to  
save the day!"  
  
"I'm not certain at all that that's--"  
  
Startled, but ready for her duty, Luna hopped up  
onto the short table and cut Ami off.  
  
"Henshin, Minna! Let's hurry before it's too late!"  
  
After five Sailor Suited Senshi determined to fight  
for love and justice ran pell-mell out of the Hikawa  
temple, Artemis awoke and wondered what the hell was  
going on. He would find out somewhat later that evening.  
  
Michiru's father, on the other hand, would never  
know what hit him.  
  
----------------------------------------  
  
Notes:  
  
They're cousins, you know....  
  
Yes, I know that Haruka's NA dub name is 'Amara'. It just  
doesn't sound... *right* for this story. FYI, I beleive  
that 'Ariel' is her Deutsch dub-name. Maybe Francais?  
  
* * *   
  
C. Jones  
http://www.furinkan.net/  
  



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